


in the hospital after the war

by snaeken



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:00:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25164301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snaeken/pseuds/snaeken
Summary: "I can wipe the blood off my own face, Liam," he snarks, mainly because he doesn't know what else to do; because it's comfortable, familiar, as far as the two of them are concerned. He doesn't pull away though."I know. But I want to." Liam looks up at him, ocean blue eyes boring into his own. Theo's breath would probably catch, if he was breathing at all. "Let me."
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 25
Kudos: 195





	in the hospital after the war

It's easy enough for him to slip away, after.

After the sounds of gunshots have faded from the hospital like the heartbeats of the deceased, after the all-encompassing blanket of fear produced by the Anuk-ite has been vanquished, Scott and the others having defeated it at the high school.

They may have won the fight, but they haven't won the war; Monroe escaped, along with a band of her close associates. Theo can pretty much guarantee they won't disappear quietly.

The hospital is, well. A bit like the aftermath of a warzone. Doctors and nurses and deputies everywhere, armed with handcuffs and body bags, making arrests and treating the wounded; Theo's own wolfsbane-laced bullet wound in his shoulder was treated by Deaton, while Liam regrouped with his pack and had his own wounds treated by Argent.

A halogen light flickers above him as he walks through one of the more deserted parts of the hospital, down a corridor beyond a Staff Entry Only sign.

He briefly wonders what will happen to the bodies. If anyone will claim them, if they’ll be buried in Beacon Hills or somewhere else. Or if Parrish will spirit them away one by one to the Nemeton like he did with the chimeras’ bodies, a keepsake written in blood for the trauma it has brought to this town.

His hands are still shaking a little where he's got them stuffed in his pockets, not that he'd ever admit it or let anyone see it. He swears they're tingling a little, even now. There's still blood on them; Gabe's blood.

Maybe he's getting soft. It's been a while since he's seen any dead bodies after all, maybe death is something you can stop being accustomed to seeing. Or maybe it's his own involvement in Gabe's last moments, for possibly the first time in his life healing rather than harming.

The overhead light flicks on when he enters the bathroom, the door drowning out the remnants of noise throughout the rest of the building when it shuts behind him. He rests his elbows on the counter with a row of sinks, and sighs. Quiet, at last.

Then he looks up and catches his reflection in the mirror, and has to stop himself from flinching away. There's blood on him. Not just his hands, which he's resolutely trying and failing not to look at; it's on his shirt, his jeans, his face. He didn't realise how much of it there was on him. Now that he's aware of it, the tang of copper floods his nostrils, his mouth, so potent he could gag from it. God, he’s getting soft.

Quickly suppressing that urge, he runs the tap instead, wetting a paper towel to scrub against the sleeve of his shirt, a futile attempt to wipe the blood off considering the shirt has a bullet hole in it and is essentially ruined anyway. The paper towel comes away red. He bins it and repeats the process, moving on to the spots of blood he's noticed on his jeans. He's so caught up in what he's doing that he doesn't even sense the other person approaching until the bathroom door opens, making him jump round, his nails sharp and fangs half-extended.

"Oh." He forcibly drops the shift, staring at Liam who stares back at him from the doorway.

"I didn't know where you were," Liam says, his elevated heart rate gradually slowing down. "You went in with Deaton and then you were gone."

All things considered, Liam doesn't seem to be too worse for wear. He's not injured as far as Theo can tell, anyway. And although he can smell drying blood coming from Liam's clothes too, there's not nearly as much of it; besides, Liam will probably just throw these clothes out when he gets home. Theo doesn't have that luxury.

"Well," Theo shrugs, and throws the paper towel he's holding into the bin. "You found me."

Liam follows the arc of it, wrinkling his nose as Theo pulls another paper towel from the dispenser. His heartbeat jackknifes then, seemingly connecting the dots as he takes a few wide-eyed steps forward and scans over Theo's body, looking for the source of the blood.

"I'm fine," Theo assures him, probably futilely. "Just cleaning up."

"Not very well," Liam grumbles, grabbing a paper towel himself and wetting it.

Theo stiffens as Liam presses the damp towel to his skin, watching the look of sheer concentration on his face. He's close enough that Theo can feel him exhale, warm puffs of air just above his jaw.

"I can wipe the blood off my own face, Liam," he snarks, mainly because he doesn't know what else to do; because it's comfortable, familiar, as far as the two of them are concerned. He doesn't pull away though.

"I know. But I want to." Liam looks up at him, ocean blue eyes boring into his own. Theo's breath would probably catch, if he was breathing at all. "Let me."

Giving the barest nod, Theo watches him as Liam methodically dabs his face, his look of sheer concentration as he gently wipes away every spot of blood.

"There. All done," Liam says softly with a half-smile, discarding the used paper towel. He doesn't move away.

"Thanks," he all but croaks, rooted to the spot. There's something almost _pleading_ in Liam's eyes, something that makes his own heartbeat kick up a notch; something that Liam definitely notices, from the way he quickly glances down at Theo's chest and back up, pulse raising in turn.

Theo inches his head down. And again. And again. Liam still lets out a little surprised sound when their mouths connect. It’s a sound Theo’s all too happy to swallow up, his lips skating over Liam’s, who Theo is realising hasn’t actually kissed him back yet. He tries to pull back, to see what’s happening on Liam’s face, but he doesn’t get the chance; Liam makes another noise and immediately clasps his hands around Theo’s upper arms, surging into him, and he lets Liam press him back against the counter. Theo bites at Liam’s bottom lip which only succeeds in making Liam press against him harder, dropping his vice-like grip on Theo’s upper arms and fumbling with his hands momentarily to clasp their fingers together, lifting their joined hands to press them back against the mirrors so that Theo’s near enough bent backwards horizontally.

He lasts all of a few seconds like that before he has to forcibly detach his mouth from Liam’s and pant against his skin, “You have no idea how uncomfortable this is.”

Liam laughs, smiling against Theo’s cheek, and Theo gives a laugh of his own. Taking a few steps backwards, Liam pulls Theo upright again via their clasped hands, darting in again to peck the side of his mouth before letting go completely.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. Also I really need a shower,” Liam says, grimacing down at himself. “Drive me home?”

Theo smirks, stepping into Liam’s space again. “You hitting on me, Dunbar?”

“Depends,” Liam says a little shakily. “Is it working?”

Theo kisses him again.

They finally extract themselves from the bowels of the hospital, until they’re right back into the general mania that is the aftermath of war. It’s a bit much, honestly. From the way Liam is walking stiffly beside him, it’s clear he’s feeling a bit of sensory overload too.

Liam looks over, clearly noticing Theo watching him. “Hey. You… You wanted that, right?”

“I kissed you, remember?” Theo rolls his eyes and lightly shoves Liam. Only Liam trips over his own feet and just barely stops himself crashing into a nurse who’s rushing past. Liam shoots him a glare.

“Would it _kill_ you to _not_ be an asshole for two seconds?”

“Probably,” he grins, darting in to kiss Liam. Immediately they both startle and whip around when Mason _whoops_ at them.

“ _Get it!_ ” he yells from the other side of the reception area, Corey grinning at them at his side. Liam laughs and takes his hand, tugging him towards the front doors. Theo, resigned to every supernatural and supernaturally-associated individual in the whole of Beacon County knowing about this within the next five minutes _maximum_ , lets him.

“Hey,” Liam says once they’ve reached Theo’s truck. He waits for Theo to look at him before continuing. “We won.”

They did. They fought with each other, they _didn’t die_ for each other, and they’ve come out the other side. Monroe is still out there, along with the hunters and individuals she’s indoctrinated with her cause, and they all need to be captured as quickly as possible to prevent what’s happened in Beacon Hills happening anywhere else. But the crushing anxiety and fear brought on by the Anuk-ite has been lifted and, at least for today, nobody else in Beacon Hills is trying to kill them. They can have this. _He_ can have this.

“Yeah,” Theo smiles, pressing Liam up against the truck to kiss him again. “Yeah, we won.”


End file.
